Chapter 15: Forgiveness (Part 2)

"I have visual confirmation on the neuroi. It's not what the reports said. It's an L-class one."

Minna and her squad of four witches flew above the huge neuroi in the safe cover of nearby columbus clouds. The witches with her were Erica, Trude, Shirley, and Lucchini. The five of them wouldn't have a problem dealing with a neuroi like this, but it kept troubling her with the sudden increase of neuroi activity. Before their guests from another universe arrived, neuroi attacks were generally spaced out, with attacks being around two to three in a month, five being the most if the neuroi decided to become more aggressive. These two weeks alone with the arrival of their guests, there had already been three attacks. All of them concentrated in the same vicinity as the forest they found Luke and Sam. This attack was no exception.

"It seems like the observers on the ground were way off. I don't like that." Trude huffed.

"Shouldn't be too hard..." Erica said with a stretch.

"Gotta agree with Hartmann." Shirley replied. "Although, anyone notice how frequent they've been attacking?"

"I have..." Minna spoke up. "I don't like it. They've never been this aggressive with their attack patterns."

"Even if they send more neuroi, they won't take my Romanga!" Lucchini cried out. Shirley just gave a sigh and smiled.

"It's always you and your Romanga, is it?"

"How can I not love my country? Romanga is the best!"

A screech from the neuroi ended all conversation. It seemed that the neuroi were able to find five witches within it's airspace.

"Well, it looks like it found us." Erica chimed in.

"Alright then," Minna said. "Let's go with the usual plan. Formation A!"

"Yes ma'am!"

The five witches sped off to encounter the neuroi. Soon, they engaged in a firefight, as bullets and miasma clashed between foes. However, the five were unaware of the crisis happening back at base. Unaware that they had fallen into the neuroi's trap.

Ellie couldn't believe what she saw outside the hallway window. Black, shadowy figures darted outside of the base. Each one had a glowing red design on them. Their screams were metallic and inhuman, piercing the air violently. Briefly, Ellie saw a flash of red, followed by an explosion that rocked the entire base.

"The neuroi!" Lynne shouted.

"How did they get to the base?!" Yoshika replied.

Ellie could tell the worry and nervousness on the two's faces. These were the things that they fought? Their war wasn't between two sides of people? Ellie could see that their war was for the survival of humanity, not a conflict between men. Another explosion rang out while she heard the sound of anti-aircraft fire.

"Yoshika! Lynne! Ellie!" The three turned around to see the two Militia Pilots run towards them with urgency.

"Luke! Sam! What's going on? Why are the neuroi here?" Yoshika asked.

"No clue, but the the Major is wanting everyone ASAP." Sam said. Ellie noticed the two in combat gear, with their weapons slung onto their backs and their helmets in their hands.

"Ellie, here. Catch." Luke said. He threw Ellie's weapon and helmet towards her. Catching it in one go, she slung the weapon to her back and proceeded to put her helmet on.

"W-Wait, those things are the neuroi? How are we supposed to fight them?" Ellie asked.

"Don't worry." Sam explained as she put her helmet on. "While the neuroi may be a bit freaky, these girls know how to combat them. We'll inform you once we get to the Major."

"Hurry! Let's get moving!" Luke said through his helmet.

The five ran down the hallway as more explosions rocked the base. The anti-aircraft fire was steadily going down as more explosions indicated AA being destroyed by incoming beams of miasma. With a few more turns down the hall, Luke and Sam led the other three into the hangar. Major Sakamoto, Major Schnaufer, Eila, and Perrine were awaiting in their striker units and equipping their weapons.

"You two, there you are!" Perrine said. She was making her final checks.

"Bishop and Miyafuji, get to your strikers! We're taking off right now!" Sakamoto ordered. The two witches complied and ran to their launch units.

"Major, what about us?" Sam asked.

"Help provide suppressing fire onto the neuroi. We'll try to draw them away from the base and take them out."

"Got it!" Sakamoto then called to her comms.

"Sanya, have you made progress to contact the others?"

"*No ma'am. Our signal is being interfered somehow. I'm trying to strengthen the signal and the radio operators are trying different channels.*" The response from Sanya was hazy and filled with static.

"Keep me informed on any progress made."

"*Yes, ma'am.*"

"Alright ladies," Sakamoto called out. "Let's launch!"

"Yes ma'am!"

The five launched from their launch units with remarkable speed. Ellie watched in awe as she saw the five witches zoom out of the hangar. However, her awe turned into shock as a red beam cut through, narrowly missing the five. The beam hit the hangar ceiling and caused a bit of the concrete to crash down onto the hangar floor.

"That's too close!" Sam called out. "Ellie, get ready to stick near our Titans. Aim for their center of mass and you should do fine."

"It's just like a training simulation, nothing too hard." Luke added.

"Alright... I'll do my best then." Ellie replied.

The two pilots ran towards their Titans. Each one grabbed their respective pilot and placed them inside the cockpit. Roaring to life, the titans began to walk out of the hangar with loud thuds. Ellie remained close behind the two titans with her Spitfire LMG in hand. Cocking the bolt, she readied her machine gun and stepped outside. She was surprised to see the neuroi firsthand. The alien creatures were black and red, shaped like pyramids as they zipped through the air. She heard the metallic screech of the neuroi as it fired a red beam at Yoshika as they zipped around in the air. In horror, she called out to the Fuso witch, but was in awe as Yoshika propped out her shield, glowing blue and filled with pentagrams, and began to return fire. While the sky was filled with these creatures, each witch expertly dodged their attacks and fought skillfully. She could tell that these witches have been doing this kind of thing for a while, as each and every one of them meshed perfectly. All of their moves were in sync as she saw neuroi explode into white flashes of dust.

"Damn... these witches are amazing..." Ellie muttered in amazement.

"No time to be amazed, sis." Luke said. "Let's help them out."

"Right. Let's greet these neuroi with Militia hospitality!" Ellie roared.

Parker kept hearing the muffled sounds of explosions and gunfire inside the room he was it. Each time he heard a type of metallic, inhuman shriek, an explosion followed. He saw bits of the cellar ceiling chip off and fall to the ground, while he could tell that whatever was attacking the base, it was powerful. Of course, it wasn't IMC. That was clear. Otherwise, he would be be hearing a lot more gunfire. Militia was out of the question considering who was interrogating him. Yet, who was attacking the base? Considering that those girls wore military uniforms, their country was possibly at war with another one.

But there was one thing for sure: With the militia and girls gone, he was by himself. He could escape.

Parker attempted to undo the bonds, but the rope didn't budge. Figures. That red-headed girl must've tightened the bonds more carefully. Another explosion rocked the room, causing the lights to flicker. At this rate, the base would be completely destroyed. And Parker wasn't going to wait and get buried underneath how many tons of concrete. He looked around for anything that could help him loosen the rope. There was the wooden table and the wine rack. The table might be able to help, but he was unsure how he could use it to unbind the rope. As for the wine rack...

'That's it!'

Parker carefully slid himself towards the wine rack. One of the bottles was perched upon the top. Getting to the edge of the rack, he began banging alongside the wooden frame. The bottle wobbled slowly, yet wouldn't fall.

'Dammit... c'mon...'

Another bump rocked the wine rack and the bottle slowly rolled towards the edge. It teetered for a minute before crashing down onto the floor. The glass broke and wine spilled onto the concrete. Victorious, Parker slid towards the shattered remains of the bottle. Carefully, he shifted his weight and got onto his knees. He crawled towards the shards of glass, making sure he didn't slip from the wine. The last thing he needed was to be impaled by a broken wine bottle. He found his luck through a jagged shard of glass. He bent down and turned his back to grasp the glass in his hands. It took him a few tries, but he eventually got the shard. He proceeded to cut his way out of the rope. It took him a while, but with each cut, the bonds began to loosen and loosen until he heard the snap of rope being broken.

"Finally..." Parker sighed. He wrestled the rope away and felt himself free from the grasp of the chair. Rubbing his wrists, be began to assess his new situation. How to get out of the room.

'It shouldn't be too hard. Aim next to the handle and kick. Breach and clear, just like training.'

Parker got a running start and used all his force to kick the door. The door cracked, but didn't budge. Unfazed, he tried once more. Another powerful kick left another crack into the wooden door, yet the door was firmly held in place. Parker decided one more kick should do the trick. With a sprint, he applied all his force to the crack on the door. With a loud bang, the door flung open and Parker stumbled outside before colliding into something. Or, in reality, someone.

With a loud thud and a cry, Parker felt himself atop of someone. Glancing down, he saw that he fell atop of a young girl with brown, braided hair. Of course, just like the other girls, she didn't have any pants and showed off her undergarments. He also noticed that the position he was in was rather... awkward.

'Christ... why this...'

He looked to his left and saw another one of those girls. It was the girl that interrogated her, having short blonde hair, lab coat, and glasses.

Ursula was unsure on how to make of the situation. While both her and Eleanor hastily running for the Control Tower, it just happened that the IMC pilot escaped his temporary cell and crashed into her assistant. Ursula wasn't sure what to exactly do, but decided she had to do something.

"U-Um, excuse me-"

Parker grabbed the girl underneath him and brought her into a loose chokehold, having her hostage. While these two weren't exactly a threat, he didn't want to risk his efforts to escape to be undone with a call for help.

"Back off. Lead me to where my gear is being held and I'll let go of your friend here." As a precaution, Parker strengthened his grip on the girl, who squeaked in fear.

"O-Officer H-Hartmann..." Eleanor cried out in terror.

"Please!" Ursula begged. "We're not here to hurt you! We only want to help!""

"If you want to help, show me where my gear is held and you two won't get hurt."

"Why don't you trust us?" Ursula asked.

"Because you are siding with the Militia. I have many reasons to hate them. Same goes for those who sympathize with those terrorists!"

"If so, are you willing to hurt us then?"

"What type of question is that?"

"Well, we are young girls after all. Will you hurt us?"

"..."

Parker wasn't unsure how to respond. Yes, he was a soldier. He would do almost anything to ensure he would be alive. Yet, it was the word almost that got to him. He accepted his job and paycheck as a military contractor to fight the enemies of Earth such as the Militia. He didn't accept it to kill innocent people. Did he really have the strength to kill, or even hurt these two?

He remembered the words Jen sometimes told him. Both of them hated the orders they received from Graves. From killing civilians, to the brutal execution of IMC deserters and surrendering militia, Jen always reminded him with a phrase.

"Parker. Promise me this. No matter what we witness. No matter who we kill. Promise me that we won't become monsters."

Parker ran those words through his mind. He slowly felt his grip on Eleanor loosen up. Finally, he let go of the young girl. Eleanor quickly escaped his grasp and hid behind Ursula. Ursula remained concentrated on the IMC pilot.

"To let you know, I was told about the conflict between the IMC and the Militia. What they told me was horrific. I can't imagine people doing the types of things I heard. However, I can tell the similarities to both sides. Both of you want to live through your war. While you may have conflicting ideas with the Militia, the two of you have many similarities. I know both you and the Militia pilots want to get home. You just have to put differences aside. After all, in my world, that is what humanity is doing to combat our enemy."

"Your enemy?" Parker questioned.

Suddenly, a dark figure sped past the window. Parker was alarmed to see it. In a red flash, he witnessed the dark being fire a laser. A massive explosion erupted as a result, causing the base to shake. Everyone held onto the wall as the ceiling shook violently.

"What the hell was that?" Parker nervously muttered.

"The neuroi. An alien race that decided to attack humanity for unknown reasons." Ursula explained. "That is why our world's nations band together. We all have a common foe." Another explosion erupted, coming from the ocean outside. Nonetheless, the blast shook the base.

"Please," Ursula began. "Put your differences aside with the Militia for now and help us. I promise to get you back to your world safely."

While Parker didn't fully understand the whole "getting back to your world" part, he did understand that he had to help these girls out. Otherwise, he would be killed by these so called 'neuroi'.

"Well, I don't have much of a choice. And besides, I don't plan on killing helpless kids either. I'll help..." Ursula was happy to get the IMC pilot to reason, however Parker wasn't finished.

"...on a few conditions."

"Alright then. What may they be?"

"First, I get my gear and weapons back."

"Alright. I do know where they are."

"Second, I have your word that those Militia pilots won't wipe my face off the planet. I don't plan to be betrayed from this. Nor do I plan to die without putting up a fight."

"I'll vouch for you."

"And third, you tell me everything. Where am I, what's going on, and who you people are."

"Once this situation is over, I will explain everything." Ursula reassured.

"Well then," The IMC pilot sighed.

"What do you need me to do?"

Ellie concentrated her fire in controlled bursts as neuroi zipped around in the air above her. Squeezing the trigger, her volley of lead landed onto a neuroi, tearing it to shreds. The neuroi exploded into crystalline fragments. This neuroi had been her fifteenth one. Still, many were airborne as they all darted around to combat the witches in the air.

"Ellie, take cover!" Sam roared. Ellie took immediate cover behind Sam's Titan as a neuroi beam came straight towards them. In an instant, Sam used her Particle Vortex to block the incoming miasma beam. The beam reflected off the shield and Sam pressed on to attack the neuroi.

"Geez! That stuff still scares the crap outta me!" Ellie half joked, half whimpered. Although this was the third time that she had to get shielded by the titans, the view of a giant red laser coming straight for you would make anyone shit their pants in an instant.

"Heh, same here." Sam replied. "Though, the witches are doing fine so far. But they can only last for so long."

"Just keep concentrating fire on the neuroi. Let's dwindle them down." Luke said over his comms.

Ellie concentrated her fire on more neuroi. She managed to take two down, but the others scattered away from the bullets she fired. The neuroi sent another volley of miasma towards her, forcing her to seek shelter under Luke's Particle Vortex. Luke's titan roared as it belched out 20mm rounds, causing significant damage to the neuroi waves. But with each neuroi down, more seemed to come out of nowhere.

"Where the hell are they coming from?! We're not making any progress!" Sam yelled in frustration.

"Major Sakamoto, have you found the core?"" Luke asked.

"*Negative.*" Sakamot replied. Her comms were also hazy with static.

"*There's so much movement that it's hard to pinpoint the core neuroi in this swarm- ah, dammit!*" Ellie saw Sakamoto dodge a volley of beams before she returned fire, effectively destroying seven neuroi.

"This is bad..." Sam muttered. "If we don't get support soon, we won't hold out for long."

"*Sanya, have you been able to contact Commander Minna?*" Sakamoto asked.

"*No ma'am. We've tried all channels, but they aren't reaching her. Same for any other base.*" Sanya replied amidst the static.

"Something's wrong with the signal. They're blocking it." Ellie said. A beam of miasma cut through the water before hitting the top of the control tower. Everyone could only watch in horror about the now unknown fate of both Sanya and the radio operators.

"*Sanya!*" Eila screamed.

"*E-Everyone's fine. We're all okay.*" Sanya quickly replied. Everyone sighed in relief from the news, but the neuroi wouldn't let them have a break. The swarm pressed the attack in attempt to fully surround the witches. While more neuroi exploded into fine powder, more filled in the gaps and began to enclose the witches.

"Hurry! We gotta buy them more time!" Sam yelled. Ellie continued her efforts, squeezing the trigger and sending more waves of lead. But she knew that they would need a miracle to survive this onslaught.

Sanya, stood back up after the recent beam struck near the control tower. Her magical antennae were doing their best to get a signal to Commander Minna. However, she knew something was blocking the long-range signal. Even the radio was barely able to transmit to Major Sakamoto from here, with most of the transmission covered in static.

Once more, she tried to amplify the control radio while an operator did his best to change channels and reset wires. Again, all that came out was static. Again and again, she tried her best to amplify the signal in hopes that it would pass whatever barrier the neuroi had with their communication. But she stopped in exhaustion as her efforts only produced no results. She also felt bad that she couldn't help in the air. While she made a full recovery, she didn't possess a striker unit.

"Hello, this is Pilot Officer Litvyak of the 501st. If anyone can hear me, please respond. We are in dire need of assistance." No response came.

"Try disconnecting and connecting all wires once more! Then channel the comms to Channel B!" A radio operator called out. A few other operators and mechanics began the process once more in haste. Another explosion rocked the tower, causing everyone to brace themselves.

"Pilot Officer Litvyak!" Sanya turned around to see Ursula and Eleanor come up the stairs, accompanied by...

...the IMC pilot?!

"Ursula-!"

"It's okay." Ursula assured. "He's helping us."

"Yeah," Parker added. "I ain't gonna bite. Unless you give me a reason to."

"A-Alright..." Sanya replied nervously.

"What's going on so far?" Ursula asked.

"We've been trying to broadcast a signal to Commander Minna." One of the radio operators said. "But the signal seems to be jammed. We've tried rewiring and moving wires around, but nothing's working."

"Well, guess you're in luck." Parker said.

"Why?" Ursula questioned.

"My helmet isn't affected by electro-magnetic interference. IMC pilots always get the newest gear, so my helmet should be able to punch through the jamming signal."

"Are you sure?"

"Well, that's what I've been told. Though, we need a way to amplify my radio in order for it to broadcast as far as you need it."

"I can do that." Sanya said.

"How?" Parker questioned. In response, Sanya popped out her cat familiar's ears and tail while her magical antennae appeared.

"U-Uh. I don't see the point..." Parker said, confused and surprised at what he witnessed.

"She has an ability called 'Magical Antennae'. She can receive radio waves and amplify them. She would be able to amplify your signal." Ursula explained.

"A-Alright then." Parker said. "Let's give it shot. What's the frequency?"

"It's . Broadcast the message through a Long-Wave Channel." The radio operator replied. Parker fidgeted with his internal radio on his helmet for a few moments before her got the frequency right.

"Okay, patch me through." Parker explained. Sanya nodded and focused her magic to amplify the signal.

Minna was busy combating the neuroi as she and her four witches darted through the sky. The five all simultaneously fired at the neuroi in order to damage it before breaking off as it fired off beams in their direction. Blocking one with a shield, she wiped the sweat off her forehead as she assessed the situation. Despite the heavy damage done, the neuroi quickly regenerated. So far, they've hit every single place on the neuroi without any luck hitting the core.

"This thing won't go down!" Lucchini yelled amidst her volley of .30 cal bullets. All landed their mark on the red hexagons on the neuroi, rendering those plates temporarily useless to fire any miasma at them. However, she could tell that they were regenerating quickly.

"I haven't seen a core on the neuroi thus far." Minna said. Another volley of lasers kept the witches at bay. The five regrouped once more.

"Any plans?" Trude asked. Minna thought for a moment before she spoke up.

"Alright, Erica and Trude, distract the neuroi from the bottom. Shirley, Francesca and-"

Suddenly, everyone's comms were interrupted with a voice.

"*Commander Minna, are you there, over?*"

"Who is this?" Minna responded. She had an odd feeling that the voice was familiar.

"*No time for that. As of right now, the base is under attack.*"

"What!?" Everyone was in shock at the news.

"Neuroi are attacking the base?!" Minna said. "That can't be possible?!"

"*These... neuroi-things are jamming the radio signal. One of your... um... witches was trying to contact you but to no avail.*"

"Minna," Trude interjected, "how do we know that this person is saying the truth? We don't know who he is." A beam of miasma forced all of the witches to prop up shields.

"*Commander Minna, are you there?*" The voice called out.

"Yes, I am here. We're sending reinforcements. Out." Minna turned to the group of four to order new instructions.

"Shirley, Francesca, go to the base and assist. The rest of us will handle the neuroi. Radio us once you get sight of the base."

"Yes ma'am!" Shirley and Francesca flew off, leaving the Karlsland trio to fight the neuroi.

"Minna, you sure it was a good idea to listen to that guy?" Erica asked.

"I dunno," Minna shrugged, "but I had a feeling he was to be trusted. Let's just hope he was right."

Yoshika began to pant heavily as the unrelenting neuroi swarm surrounded them. She fired her gun into the wave of neuroi, successfully taking a few out. Behind her, Lynne fired her rifle into the neuroi swarm. On instinct, both propped their shields to deflect the incoming beams. Both knew they wouldn't be able to last out the siege forever.

Beside her, Yoshika felt the wind rush as the swarm was torn through by Luke, Sam, ad Ellie's help on the ground. She heard the loud booms their Titans made as they fired, with each round punching holes through the neuroi. But she noticed something strange happen. Amidst the swarm of black and red, she saw a neuroi drone split into two. The newly formed neuroi joined its brethren into the group while that neuroi waited back and hid amongst the swarm.

"That's it!" Yoshika exclaimed through the comms.

"What is it?" Lynne asked.

"The neuroi! One of them is dividing!"

"Miyafuji," Sakamoto called out, "where is that neuroi?"

"There!" With acute sight, Yoshika pointed to the exact neuroi that seemed to be the cause of the swarm. Above her, Sakamoto removed her eyepatch and followed the particular neuroi drone. She watched it divide once more amongst the crowd as another neuroi drone split from it. With her magic eye, she saw the culprit contain a neuroi core within.

"There's the core!" Sakamoto exclaimed. She pointed directly to the mother drone. "Everyone, aim for that neuroi!"

"Yes ma'am!"

On cue, the six witches followed their culprit, taking out any drones in the way. The concentration of fire tore through the swarm and the six witches raced to get the core neuroi. Yet, each time their bullets flew towards their target, a drone would sacrifice itself and get hit in its place.

"The drones are protecting it!" Perrine said.

"Just keep firing! Make sure it doesn't get the chance to divide into more neuroi!" Sakamoto ordered. They were then met with a loud boom as neuroi drones disappeared into a fine dust.

"*We're helping in any way we could!*" Sam beckoned. Another slug fired and more neuroi fell to the Titan's weapon. Ellie sprayed a volley of fire at the swarm, causing as much damage as she could to swat off the neuroi from the witches.

The witches weaved through the neuroi swarm, playing a cat-and-mouse chase after the neuroi core. As walls of drones appeared to thwart the witches, they were met with slugs from the Titans. The neuroi core weaved to the left, then to the right. But it seemed almost useless as the witches were fast on its heels. It rocketed up into the air while the drones acting a final stand against the witch onslaught.

"Gotcha!"

From the skies above, the famous Romangan-Liberion duo dived on top of the neuroi. With nowhere to run, the neuroi core was left to meet its fate. A quick burst of lead from the two left the drone to crumble into nothing as a white flash destroyed all the neuroi drones.

"Whew, nice work Francesca!" Shirley commented. She watched the handiwork of her Romangan friend, which resulted in neuroi flakes falling down to the sea.

"Anyone hurt?" Francesca asked. The six witches flew up to them.

"Francesca! Shirley!" Yoshika called out.

"Hey!" Shirley replied. "You guys okay?"

"We've barely held them off." Sakamoto said. "The base is damaged, but it seems everyone is fine. Although, we've had some close encounters. How did you know we were in trouble? Our communications were somehow cut off."

"Commander Minna said she received a radio transmission that said the base was under attack. She sent us to see if it was true, and it turns out that the person was right. We never figured out who the person was that alerted us."

"Weird..." Sakamoto thought. Sanya wasn't able to signal for help due to the neuroi, but yet someone knew that they were in trouble and alerted the others.

"*Mio, are you there? Mio?*" Sakamoto heard Minna's voice through her earpiece. While still slightly hazy, Sakamoto could still make out the words clearly.

"I'm here. Shirley and Lucchini are already here. The neuroi are done for."

"*Thank goodness... The neuroi here self destructed without us hitting it's core. Seems like this one was a drone as well. We're coming back to the base. Any reports on its damage?*"

"Nothing too bad. Although, I've have yet to hear from anyone on base just yet. We'll make a full assessment."

"*Okay. Keep an eye out, just in case of any more surprises.*"

"Roger." As Sakamoto ended her transmission, she still had thoughts. Who was the mystery man?

"Those girls..." Parker muttered in disbelief. He just witnesses six teenage girls take out an entire swarm of aliens.

"That is what witches are." Ursula said. "We are humanity's trump card. In our world, we're the best defense humanity's got so far to combat the neuroi." Surprising Parker, she extended her hand out to him.

"We didn't get a proper introduction before due to your situation. How about we redo?" She said. "I'm Ursula Hartmann from the Karlsland Research and Development team." Parker nodded and shook the witch's hand.

"Jonathan Parker, IMC."

"And my assistant here is Eleanor Einstein." Ursula introduced the timid witch behind her.

"H-Hello. It's nice to finally get acquainted."

"Einstein, huh?" Parker said. "Um... Do you happen to be related to an Albert Einstein?"

"O-Oh... Well... Yes. He's my father. H-How did you-"

"Erm...let's just say 'intuition' and keep it at that..."

"O-oh... Okay..." Behind Parker, Sanya began her introduction.

"I'm Sanya Litvyak, from the 501st Joint Fighter Wing. Thank you for your help."

"No problem. I'm glad was able to do something good..." Parker replied, just as Sakamoto and her six witches came out of the elevator in a rush, followed by the three Militia pilots.

"Sanya!" Eila cried out. "Are you-" Everyone stopped in their tracks. It was quiet as the new group stared at their now-freed captive.

Within seconds, the three militia pilots trained their firearms onto the IMC pilot with Sakamoto up front, aiming her pistol right at the prisoner. Everyone else watched with cautious and fearful eyes as the situation turned into a standoff.

"Get onto your knees and have your hands above your head!" Sakamoto shouted.

"You've gotta be kidding me... Look, this is all a big misunderstanding-" Parker began, but was silenced by Sam.

"Look, pal. You better listen to the Major here. Else, you're just digging your own grave."

"Damn Militia..." Parker muttered under his breath. "Ursula, please help me on this."

"What are you talking about?" Sakamoto glared, her pistol still drawn.

"Major Sakamoto," Ursula interjected. "He was helping us. He was the one that signaled the others."

"How?"

"My helmet is designed to withstand electronic jamming." Parker interjected. "With Sanya's help-" Parker was stunned as Eila grabbed him by the collar of his uniform, almost in a chokehold, as she held her face near his.

"Who said you could use Sanya's name?" Eila gritted her teeth and gave off a death-stare. Parker nervously gulped underneath his helmet.

"E-Eila..." Sanya said nervously.

"E-Eila, we have more pressing issues here..." Sam insisted.

"R-Right..." Parker hesitantly spoke out. "Ms. Litvyak here helped me signal your commander using her... um... magic." It took a few moments before the rather angry Soum let go of Parker, still giving him a rather threatening glare despite his satisfactory explanation.

"Major Sakamoto, Mr. Parker here helped us. I promised he, in return for his aide, would be able to at least be allowed to help us in equal, non-hostile terms. To be free from captivity."

"I can understand that promise, pilot officer, but I can't authorize that. At least, until I have a word with Commander Minna." Sakamoto stated.

"You've got to be kidding me..." Parker muttered. In seconds, Parker was apprehended by the three Militia pilots. Ursula watched in defeat as Parker was taken away. Both Lynne and Yoshika were saddened to see the IMC pilot hauled back into captivity.

As for Parker...

"Back to square one..." Parker sighed.

In the Super Hive above Venezia, a congregation of mankind's enemies gathered. If one were to see the hive within, it resembled a hollow chamber of black and red hexagonal plates. In the center, the massive Neuroi core of the hive rested, surrounded by dozens upon dozens of neuroi drones. The neuroi inside were chattering in their own language, a busy jumble of screeches.

'Our scouts have been decimated. We have been pushed back from our goal to obtain the artifact. What shall we do now Mother?' The neuroi spoke. The Hive Core hummed a response.

'We shall continue our efforts to find the artifact. No doubt it remains within the earth, hidden. Once found, we can be able to complete our transfer through The Rift. These losses are only minor setbacks.'

'As for the humans and their military forces in our area?'

'Continue pressing our attacks. We neuroi must show them our power over the land. They fell once before. We shall make them succumb to our reign soon enough.'

'And the flying demons, Mother? What shall we do with them and their newcomers?'

The Hive Core was too familiar with the demons, or what the humans called witches. That, and the newcomers' mechanical beasts proved to be a nuisance in the overall plan of the neuroi.

'Worry not, children. They have witnessed our power. We shall continue to drain them of their efforts until their life essence is spilled from their bodies.

As for the newcomers, our sleeper agent is still amongst them. In due time, we shall unlock the secrets of the newcomers. And even thwart the demons from our land for good. All in due time, children. Let us be patient.'

'Yes, mother.' The neuroi cheered happily. The Hive Core was satisfied with the reply.

The age of humanity was coming to an end. All they needed was the artifact.

'Luke, why did you abandon me?'

Luke froze for a minute in a cold sweat as he heard her dead sister's voice all too clearly. For Sam and Ellie, who were with Luke, they all looked at him with concern as they held onto their IMC captive.

"Luke, what's wrong?" Ellie asked.

"Oh...uh... nothing. Just spaced out for a bit." Both of them looked at him questionably, but decided to shrug it off.

"Alright..." Sam replied. "Had me worried there."

"Yeah. It's nothing." Luke assured. He figured it was just the stress that was making him think things. Yet, he was troubled on why that thought surfaced.

Unbeknownst to him, something continued to lay dormant within his body, continuing to access his inner thoughts. The thing was too small to be felt, but it had an important role. It was patient in its work as it sought after the vital information of the artifact and the newcomers. It knew it could not fail for the sake of his mission. And while Luke continued on which his teammates, the dormant object gave a silent cry out to the world in sinister satisfaction.

'I will not fail, mother.'

End of Chapter 15. Glad to get this out. Since you've gotten through this chapter, I will explain my prolonged absence towards this story.

To keep it short: life is a pain in the ass and it has its ways to remain a pain in the ass despite my best efforts. After once I felt one thing in life was finished, another would take its place and occupy my time. School, college applications, personal life, more school, and me trying to see what to do with my future have taken precious time from me writing. That, and apparently writer's block loves to hang out with me. Apparently, it says it takes pleasure in making me frustrated.

I know these are annoying excuses to make, but it's the truth. Sorry.

As for this story in particular, I find it hard to write for Titans and Angels for a few reasons. One reason is due to the lack of content to use as reference. Strike Witches has it's limiting content, but Titanfall has an even more so lack of information. The Titanfall wiki itself is too scarce in terms of events and lore, so I have to make up a great part of it while making sure it sounds realistic enough towards the Titanfall universe. That is why I've been updating my other story, Operation Geronimo, a "tad" bit more frequently than this one. It's hard to write about Titianfall with how limiting it is.

Another reason is because of my horrible thinking/wording skills and writer's block. I already have a planned layout of how I wanted this story to progress in terms of MAJOR plot points. Heck, I know how I want it to end should I (hopefully) reach that point In order to make a satisfying conclusion to this story for everyone. It's just the in-between. I know the start and finish, but the in-between is what I have trouble writing about. That is why it took me this long to write this chapter. In fact, I went through three drafts before getting to this one. Thankfully, I have written myself a rough guideline to how I want this story to progress. Hopefully, this will aide me in getting chapters quicker rather than long, 8-month waits between updates.

Anyways, I won't be doing reviews from the previous chapter since they were mostly about my prolonged absence (which I do apologize and take full responsibility). So, I'll leave it here.

Oh yeah, as for Trude, she said she was settling a dispute with one of the Operation Geronimo witches over something about... Something. She didn't want to tell me. I'm guessing Jackie might've convinced Audrey or Danny to follow her into my 'writing office' and Trude is trying to prevent more Fourth-Wall break-in's and any intermingling with the Titanfall pilots.

Anyways, thanks for reading! I will see you in the next chapter and respond to your reviews! Peace!

*Crash*

Jackie: Hello! We are here to visit!

What the-

Audrey: So, this is where those futuristic-people hang out...

Trude: You two! You're not supposed to be in here!

Trude! Why are they here!? I thought you were supposed to be doing security detail?!

Trude: I don't know! They... just appeared!

Sam: Woah, what's going on? And who are those two?

Jackie: Ello! Name's Jackie! I think I saw you before. I'm-

Hush, you! You aren't supposed to be here! Trude, signal alarms! We're going into Code Red!

Trude: I don't know what that means...

Arg... fine. Just make those two leave. I'll talk to them in a second. As for you, Sam, you didn't see anything nor did you see those two.

Sam: I'm not following-

Jackie: We're still right here, y'know.

Shush. You. didn't. see. anything.

Sam: Again, I'm not following. What's going on-?

Never mind. Anyways. General Ashton signing off.